List of Festivals in Nepal

Nepal is probably home to more yearly festivals and holidays than any other nation on earth. Coupled with political strikes one often wonders how anything get's done in Nepal.

Nevertheless for the tourist visiting Nepal do take a read of the major festivals and the months they occur in for a couple of reasons. 1) Nepalese festivals can be fantastic and fun. 2) Things might close down for a day or two.

Location: Boudhanath / Nationwide

Losar is celebrated over three days with the first day being the day before the Tibetan New Year's Eve. It is here many monasteries in Nepal will have colorful celebrations and rituals. The best place to experience Losar in Nepal is to seek out a Tibetan monastery in Kathmandu and ask what they will be doing for Losar. Some will be well organized, some will not. But usually it's free to attend.

Location: Pashupatinath

Shivratri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year in reverence of Lord Shiva. Expect very large crowds at Pashupatinath on the day. Sadhus often make long pilgrimages to Nepal at this time as well and are well worth locating in Pashupatinath a few days before or after Shivaratri. It should also be noted that Hashish is legal in Nepal on this day only. While usually everything is well natured do be aware that not everyone will be thinking straight.

Location: Nationwide

Holi is an ancient Hindu spring festival also known as "Festival of Colors". It is one of the best festivals to enjoy in Nepal. On the day of holi colored water and/or powder is thrown at people in celebration. It's best to wear old clothes and waterproofs and even goggles during this festival!

Location: Nationwide / Bhaktapur

The Nepalese calendar is a lunisolar Hindu calendar which is about 56.7 years ahead of the Gregorian (western) Calendar. 2013 = 2070, 2014 = 2071, 2015 = 2072. Nepalese New Year day is celebrated in a low key way throughout the country. However in Bhaktapur there's a grand celebration - hint - go to Bhaktapur!

Location: Kathmandu

Also known as the "Sacred Thread Festival" Janai Purnima is a Hindu festival welcoming young men into manhood. Expect crowds in Kathmandu but there's not much to see otherwise. However it is often close to Gaijatra which is more colorful (see below)

Event: Gai Jatra

Date: 19th August 2016 / 8th August 2017

Location: Kathmandu

Also known as the "Festival of Cows" Gaijatra is a very colorful festival. Costumes and colorful precessions mark the event in Kathmandu along with people telling jokes. This tradition comes from an eighteen-century king who gathered his people together to cheer the queen up after the death of their son. Read more about Gai Jatra

Location: Kathmandu

Also known as the "Festival of Women" Teej is a colorful fasting festival. Married women fast to honor Shiva and for a long happy life for their husbands. Fasting unmarried women dress in bright red costumes and bridal dresses while participating in traditional rituals and dances while hoping for a good husband.

Event: Yenya (Indra Jatra & Kumari Jatra)

Date: 15th September 2016/October 6th 2017 *

Location: Kathmandu

Yenya means "Kathmandu Festival" which is the celebration of both Indra Jatra and Kumari Jatra. Indra Jatra is in honor of the Hindu god Indra. Masked dances representing gods and demons fill the streets. Kumari Jatra involves the Kathmandu Kumari and a chariot procession. As Yenya is the largest festival in Nepal expect huge crowds in Kathmandu especially in Kathmandu Durbar square. Be cautious as sometimes these crowds can be very overwhelming with the results being claustrophobic. Read more about Indra Jatra

Event: Ganesh Chaturthi

Date: 5th September 2016 / 25th August 2017

Location: Kathmandu

Ganesh Chaturthi is the celebration of the Hindu God Ganesh. People give blessings at Ganesh shrines and temples throughout Nepal. Most of these take place early in the morning. In Kathmandu there is often a small parade with a Ganesh shrine that comes through the city.

Location: Nationwide

An important Hindu festival marking the goddess Durga's victory over evil. The festival takes place over a week or more with families traveling back to the original homes during this period. Children fly kites and tika blessings are given out. There's not much to see here for tourists as many people simply go home for the festival however the Taleju temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square opens up very early in the morning on the main day. Normal tourism services continue on as normal. Read more about how to cope with Dashain as a tourist

Event: Tihar

Date: 30th October 2016 / 19th October 2017

Location: Nationwide

This Hindu festival is also known as the "Festival of Light" or Deepawali. Candles, lanterns and colored tinsel are used to decorate homes over a three day period. The first day is the main festival of light where people welcome the goddess of wealth, Laxmi, into their homes for good fortune in the coming year. The following day is for self blessing wishing towards a healthy and happy for year. On the final day Sisters make offerings to their brothers.

Location: Janakpur/Kathmandu

Every year thousands of pilgrims visit Janakpur to celebrate the sun god (Surya). It is primarily a celebration from the Terai region of Nepal though the area surrounding Rani Pokhari in Kathmandu city is another major place to witness the festival. The festival is usually celebrated over four days. It is said the sun god promotes well-being, prosperity and progress. The festival is not often mentioned in Nepal but it's certainly worth attending due to the harmonious chanting, ritual candle lighting that takes place.

Location: Nationwide

Christmas Day is a very low key affair in for the mainly Buddhist and Hindu nation of Nepal. It is becoming more commonplace to place decorations around popular big town restaurants. However most of that is for tourists. Otherwise it's business as usual.

Location: Nationwide

Again a very low key event in Nepal as the Nepalese usually only celebrate Tibetan New Year and their own New Year. There are however plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars in big towns that will stay open for the celebrations.

The New Year in Nepal is based on the Hindu Calendar which is set about 56.7 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. It's known locally as Bisket Jatra / Navavarsha.

In 2016 Nepalese New Year was on April 13th when it was 2073 in Nepal

In 2017 Nepalese New Year will be on April 13th when it will be 2074 in Nepal

As noted in the main list of festivals in Nepal above the best place to celebrate Nepalese New Year is in Bhaktapur. Throughout the test of the country it's fairly low key with two days of public holidays (tourist transport is unaffected).

The above are the main festivals that take place in Nepal every year. There are many more festivals in Nepal that are either regional or are much smaller in scale.

One of the biggest obstacles in Nepal is finding out exact times, dates and locations for festivals. Hopefully this list of festivals will help you. Many are Lunar based so do expect some changes by a day or two (though the above dates are fairly standard).

For tourists and travelers to Nepal the above dates are quite important to note when planning your trip. Both in terms of attending a festival and in terms of days of avoiding crowds or potential holidays.

Generally speaking Nepal is open 24/7 356 days a year for tourists. If trekking the same applies with no real off days during festivals which are not really celebrated in a big way in the mountains.

Do keep in mind that in big cities (e.g. Kathmandu) Nepalese festivals can get extremely crowded and if you are in anyway claustrophobic you should take care. Likewise if you have small children do be cautious of them as there's a lot of shoulder to shoulder pushing in the crowds.

The main festivals that travelers to Nepal usually enjoy are Shivaratri, Holi, Tihar and Losar.

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